The most famous civilizations of ancient America, which every educated person has heard of, are the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs. These peoples inhabited the territories of central Mexico (Aztecs), southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, western Honduras (Mayans) and western southern (Inca). The grandiose architectural structures of these ancient civilizations have survived to this day. The most famous of them are the pyramids of the American Mayan and Aztec tribes. The Incas, according to scientists, did not build pyramids, although they knew how to build structures quite impressive size(such as the Sacsayhuaman fortress).

The Mayan and Aztec peoples inhabited America in different time. The Mayan civilization flourished in the 7th - 8th centuries, and the Aztecs in the 14th - 15th centuries. But both of these peoples were distinguished by a high level of development. They were building big cities, they used writing, and shipping was developed. The calendars of those times surprise with their accuracy. Religion occupied a special place among the Mayan and Aztec peoples. It is not without reason that the pyramids that they erected were used for various religious rites.

The exact age of the Mayan pyramids is unknown. These structures are made of rough-hewn stones, which are held together with a fairly strong mortar.

The slopes of the pyramids are steps, i.e. They were built in stages - on each platform the next, smaller one, was built. This process was quite lengthy.

One of the most famous pyramids is Kukulkan, named after the main god in the mythologies of the Mayan and Toltec tribes, who was depicted as a snake with a human head. It is located in ancient city Chichen Itza (Yucatan Peninsula). This structure is 25 meters high and has 9 platforms. The number 9 is not accidental; it symbolizes the regions of the kingdom of the dead. The pyramid is crowned by a temple. There are wide staircases on four sides, each of them has 91 steps, for a total of 364, which corresponds to the number of days in a year. The stairs themselves are divided into 18 flights - in the Mayan calendar there were exactly this number of months. The Pyramid of Kukulkan has four sides clearly facing south, north, west and east.

This pyramid is very popular among tourists. The thing is that twice a year a very unusual phenomenon can be observed on its surface. On the days of the equinox at 17:00, a huge image of a serpent begins to appear on the north side of the pyramid, becoming increasingly clear. This effect is achieved due to the sun's rays, and the illusion lasts about 3 hours.

Another pyramid was built in the city of Chichen Itza, the base of which measures 40 x 40 meters.

Another famous Mayan structure is . It is located in the ancient city of Palenque, Guatemala. The pyramid got its name because of the huge number of different designs and hieroglyphs. Scientists are still trying to unravel the meaning of these inscriptions. Only in this pyramid was a tomb with a sarcophagus discovered, the surface of which was also covered with drawings and inscriptions. Before this discovery, it was believed that the Mayans did not use pyramids for burials. The remains of a man were discovered in the sarcophagus, who, apparently, occupied a high position in society.

There is another ancient city on the Yucatan Peninsula - Uxmal. This is where the famous . This is one of the most impressive buildings that has been left to us as a legacy from the Mayan tribes. The 38 m tall pyramid has a flat top. Its corners are rounded. This structure was built over many years. Archaeological research has shown that construction lasted from the sixth to the tenth centuries. There are 5 temples inside the pyramid - according to the number of construction stages.

The most famous Aztec pyramids

Perhaps the most impressive building of the Aztecs is pyramid of the sun, located on the site of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, near modern Mexico City. It ranks third in the world among ancient structures, ahead only of the Pyramid of Cholula, from Toltec times, and the Pyramid of Cheops, which is located in Egypt, near Cairo.

The Pyramid of the Sun previously rose 71 m high (currently 64.5 m), and the perimeter of the base of this grandiose building is 893 m. About 3 million tons of stones were needed for its construction. 300 years after the pyramid was built, a temple was erected on its top, which was destroyed even before the discovery of the city of Teotihuacan by the Spanish conquerors. Currently, many tourists visit the Pyramid of the Sun. To climb to the very top, you have to overcome a difficult climb of 248 steps, which are distinguished by their steepness. But despite all the difficulties, there are many who want to rise to the very top. After all, if you believe the legends, this is where the so-called “place of power” is located. Thanks to positive energy flows, a person can find harmony and peace of mind.

In the north of Teotihuacan is . This is smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun - its height is 42 m. This five-tier pyramid is located on a small hill. A fairly wide staircase leads to the top - it is a continuation of the path called the Road of the Dead. During archaeological excavations in the Pyramid of the Moon, many remains and burials were discovered. Presumably, various rituals were performed on top of this structure.

Teotihuacan is home to the Citadel, a square that got its name thanks to the Spaniards. It is here that the Temple of the Feathered Serpent is located - a building built in the form of a pyramid. Its walls were decorated with stone ornaments that represented the heads of feathered snakes - from the western part they are well preserved to this day. The remains of animals that were sacrificed during rituals were discovered within the walls of this temple.

The pyramids of the American Mayan and Aztec tribes have not yet been fully studied. The mysteries associated with these structures will continue to attract scientists from all over the world for a long time.

Introduction
The origins of ancient American civilizations have always been controversial. They were considered the descendants of the Egyptians, Trojans and even the Carthaginians, and one hypothesis names the ten disappeared tribes of Israel among the ancestors of the Indians. In fact, the ancestors of the Indians came from Siberia. In pursuit of game, they crossed the Bering Strait on the ice. Eleven thousand years ago they reached the southern tip of South America. High-level cultures developed in parts of Central America (now mostly modern Mexico and Guatemala), as well as in the central Andes (now Peru and the Bolivian plateau region).
The history of state and law of ancient American civilizations is usually divided into the following categories:
- ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica
- and the ancient states of South America
Mesoamerica is the territory between South and North America. The first evidence of the appearance of signs of dimestication (domestication) of maize in Mexico dates back to the 5th century BC. In the 4th millennium BC. Maize farming spreads in the Teucana Valley. The population in the Teukana Valley finally switched to a sedentary lifestyle in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC.
South America- divided by:
- the Andes region (from Colombia to Chile), which includes the Inca culture of Peru;
- Rainforest habitat, mainly occupied by the Amazon jungle; Guyana adjoins it;
- Great Chaco;
- Southern range, stretching to Tierra del Fuego.
The Andean region of the ancient period can be represented as follows. People settled in the high Andean valleys ten thousand years ago. Hunting was not developed; people obtained protein from fishing. Agricultural culture arose earlier than transhumance. An irrigation system is created and a state is created that distributes water. The Chavin culture emerges on the northern plateau. The main deity of their cult, the jaguar or puma, was popular in the Andean region for five hundred years.
Around 300 AD traces of the unity of the Andean region are disappearing, but agriculture is developing: new plant species are being cultivated, terrace farming is being practiced.
Around 200 AD culture, transition period are reaching their peak. They are theocratic, the main deity is a feline, human sacrifices are made to the gods, the child’s skull is deformed from birth, and then throughout life, the skull is repeatedly trepanned; the same procedure is carried out after death; Enemy skulls are collected as trophies.
The Mochica culture erected huge temples, the most famous of which are two pyramids called the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. The coastal Nazca culture, contemporary with the Mochica culture, left behind many flattened skulls, painted and strung in garlands to make them easier to transport. On the rocks of the Palpa valley, the Nazcas created huge drawings reflecting the system of astronomical knowledge and intended for contemplation from above by the deity. By the end of this period megalithic civilization Tiahuanaco (Bolivia) exerts the same cultural influence on the peoples inhabiting the Andes as the Chavin culture had in an earlier era.
Around 1000 AD A socio-political system reminiscent of Western feudalism is established in the Andes. In the north, the kingdom of Chimu arises, which subjugates many valleys, each of which builds its own urban center.
Chapter 1. Socio-political system of ancient America
civilization
§1. Social order
Many tribes and peoples lived in America. The Mayans, Aztecs and Incas stood higher than other peoples in terms of economic development and culture.
People Mayan inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula in Central America. The heyday of the Mayan civilization occurred approximately in the 3rd-9th centuries, when the Mayan state included the territory of today's Guatemala, part of Mexico, etc.
There was social stratification in Mayan society. The nobility, who owned the wealth acquired by trade, and the simple peasants who worked the land were separated by a deep chasm. The land belonged to the communities; The community allocated a plot cleared of forest to each family. Nobles and priests dominated over ordinary community members. There were also slaves from captives and debtors.
In the 1st century The Mayans developed city-states. Each city was headed by " great person"- a ruler who passed on power by inheritance. He collected taxes from the population of the area.
The nobility lived in the center of the city in stone palaces, and on the outskirts, “low people” - peasants and artisans - settled in huts. The nobility also differed in appearance. Aristocrats admired their long, flat foreheads; They used special tablets to squeeze the heads of their children to deform their skulls.
By the time the Spanish arrived, civil war had nearly destroyed the Mayan civilization. Some cities are overgrown with forest. The Spaniards discovered fortified cities with preserved stone buildings, market squares and temples.
The Mayans were influenced by the Olmecs and some researchers believe that they are one people.
Public organization The Maya had clan-fratrical structures. The rulers of the kingdoms bore the title of Ahav, and the centers subordinate to them were ruled by Sahals, who came from local clans.
A special group was made up of priests who performed various functions: some were ideologists who claimed power, others were shamans, scientists and healers. The Mayans had hieroglyphic writing that was partially deciphered, a complex and accurate calendar, architecture and sculpture, dramatic art with the sacrifice of the main character. The high priest was subordinate to the haksh uinik.
Wars had the character of nabogs for ruin and the capture of prisoners, they were constantly waged, strengthening one or the other city.
There is almost no dependent population. The basis of society was made up of free community members. They participated in community service and military companies when they were free. The basis of the economy is slash-and-burn communal farming with changing plots.
A new type of political-territorial formation is gradually being formed: a confederation of cities with a distinguished capital. Domestic slavery and the sacrifice of slaves and the slave trade arise.
In the 13th century. came to the territory of what is now Mexico from the north Aztecs and founded the city of Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs are an Indian people who inhabited the territory of Central America. In the 15th century they conquered other territories. By 1520, the Aztec Empire extended from the coast Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic coast, from the deserts in the north to the settlements of the Mayan Indians on the Yucatan Peninsula in the south.
The Aztec civilization was considered one of the most prosperous. The empire of 15 million people was administered with a high degree of efficiency.
The head of the state was a hereditary ruler. High positions were occupied by noble people and received salaries for their service. Everything needed was taken from the controlled territories.
The Aztecs subjugated neighboring tribes, forced them to pay heavy tribute and provide slaves. Although the tribes were still ruled by local chiefs, Aztec governors and tribute collectors lived in the main cities.
Life in the state proceeded according to rituals, the course of which was determined by two calendars: one for the civil year, the other for the sacred.
The Aztecs worshiped many gods, but considered themselves the chosen people of the god Huitzilopochtli (the sun god), who demanded human sacrifices. They believed that this god needed constant replenishment of blood: life in the universe could be prolonged only by sacrificing prisoners.
The Aztecs fought to capture more prisoners. At one ceremony during the reign of the last king, Monte Zuma II, 12 thousand captives were executed. The Aztecs sometimes ate the limbs of their victims, and their priests wore ceremonial robes made from human skin. If a brave warrior was sacrificed, the Aztecs were convinced that his strength would pass on to their own soldiers.
At the same time, the Aztecs valued modesty, compassion, obedience, and hard work. They implemented a strict legal system and severely punished crimes. Boys from noble families were sent to boarding schools, where they studied politics, law, history, music, and the art of war. Boys from families learned trade and crafts.
According to Aztec mythology, the wind god Quetzalcoatl, returning from the east, will cause the fall of the Aztec empire, the Spanish conqueror E. Cortes used this prediction to lay claim to the throne. Aztec ruler
Montezuma believed that Cortes was none other than God. Cortes took Montezuma hostage and began to rule on his behalf. In the end, the unfortunate king was stoned to death by his subjects, whom he tried to call to calm during the Aztec uprising. The fight against the Spaniards continued, in 1521 Cortes captured the capital Tenochtitlan, and then the entire empire. Thus ended the era of the Aztecs and began the era of New Spain.
At the beginning of the 16th century, when the capital of the Aztecs was the largest city in Central America, the capital became the center of South America Incas Cusco. The Incas settled there in the 12th century. The Inca state stretches over thousands of kilometers in the Andes.
The engineering prowess of the Incas, more than their weapons, brought them success in conquest. Their roads were far superior in length and quality to Roman ones: one of them was almost 2.5 thousand km long. However, it was not only engineering thought and political foresight that allowed them to create such big country. Like the Aztecs, they believed that they had a divine mission to spread the light of the sun god.
At the head of the state was an unlimited ruler - the Supreme Inca. He ruled in the name of God and had absolute power. The blood relatives of the Incas, who called themselves “sons of the Sun” (the Sun was the main god of the Incas), occupied the highest positions in the state.
The nobility of the conquered peoples completely submitted to the “sons of the Sun”, adopted their language and governed their subjects according to the laws and customs of the Incas. With its help, the Incas controlled the entire country, right down to every peasant household.
The Inca ideology was actively spreading. The children of the “sons of the Sun” studied in special schools. In the absence of writing, they memorized information about religion, governance, laws and customs of the Incas.
The population lived in communities. The community member had no right to go beyond the boundaries of the settlement territory without permission from the authorities. The arable land was divided into three parts: the harvest from one went to the priests, from the other to the Supreme Inca, and only one third of the harvest remained for the community members.
The state system provided care for orphans and food storage facilities. Food was distributed from state barns to soldiers and officials, and in case of crop failures and disasters, to the victims. The families of soldiers and those who went to public works were supported by the community.
All subjects were obliged to work where indicated: either on the land, or in construction, or serve in the army. Laziness was considered a serious crime; even children as young as five were required to work.
Postal communications were established between parts of the vast country. Messages from places to the capital were transmitted by specially trained messengers-runners, who were on duty in pairs at each section of the road. Inns and supply warehouses were located along the roads to supply traveling troops and officials.
The last Inca rulers declared themselves not only the descendants of the sun god, but also the god himself. The center of Cusco was rebuilt around the Temple of the Sun, whose walls were covered in gold.
The Inca Empire was overrun by a group of Spanish soldiers led by F. Pizarro. This defeat was partly a consequence of the Incas' belief in the invulnerability of the ruler Atahualpa. All the power of the Incas was concentrated in their devotion to the emperor, and when he was captured, his subjects were confused, not knowing whom to obey. In addition, the Incas, like the Aztecs, did not have weapons that could withstand cannons and cavalry. Over the course of 50 years, the Spanish conquistadors expanded the borders of the empire so much that it was twice the size of Europe.

The Incas, Aztecs and Mayans are mysterious tribes that disappeared from the face of the earth. Scientific excavations and all kinds of research are still being conducted to study their life and the reasons for their disappearance. In this article we will talk about one interesting tribe. The Aztecs lived in the 14th century in the territory that now belongs to Mexico City.

Where did they come from

The number of this Indian people was about 1.3 million people. According to legend, the homeland of the Aztecs was the island of Aztlan (translated as “land of herons”). Initially, the members of this tribe were hunters, but then, having settled on the land, they began to engage in agricultural and handicraft work, although it was a rather warlike tribe. The Aztecs, in order to begin to lead, were looking for suitable lands for quite a long time. They did not act at random, but in accordance with the instructions of their god Huitzilopochtli. In his opinion, the Aztecs should have seen an eagle sitting on a cactus and devouring the earth.

This happened

Despite the strangeness of this sign, after 165 years of wandering through Mexican soil, the Aztecs still managed to meet this mysterious bird with unusual behavior. At the place where this happened, the tribe began to settle down. The Aztecs named their first settlement Tenochtitlan (translated as “fruit tree growing from stone”). Another name for these lands is Mexico City. Interestingly, the Aztec civilization was created by several tribes. Scientists believe that at least seven tribes took part in this, speaking related languages, the most common of which was Nahuatl. Now it and similar dialects are spoken by more than 1 million people.

Bottoms and tops

Can the Aztec civilization serve as an example for modern social organization? Fighters for equality probably would not have liked the Aztec division into aristocrats and plebeians. Moreover, members of high society had all the best. They lived in luxurious palaces, wore magnificent clothes, ate delicious food, had many privileges, and held high positions. Plebeians worked on the land, traded, hunted, fished and lived modestly in special quarters. But after death, everyone received an equal chance of getting into the underworld, the abode of the goddess of death Mictlan, or going to better world. Since warriors in the Aztec world were especially respected, those who died on the battlefield could accompany the sun from sunrise to zenith, just like those who were sacrificed. Women who died in childbirth received the honor of accompanying the sun from zenith to sunset. Those who were killed by lightning or drowned can also be considered “lucky”. They found themselves in a heavenly place where Tlalocan lived.

Fathers and Sons

The tribe about which we're talking about in this article, paid great attention to the education of children. Until the age of 1, they were raised at home, and after that they had to attend special schools. Moreover, both boys and girls, although the latter, most often, after getting married, sat at home and looked after the household and children. Commoners learned craft skills and military affairs. Aristocrats studied history, astronomy, social studies, rituals, and government. The children of members of high society were not white-handed. They worked in public works, cleaned churches, and participated in rituals. Old people were treated to honor, respect and various privileges.

Aztec culture

It is not for nothing that this lost civilization attracts attention today. The Aztecs were excellent craftsmen, so buildings, sculptures, stone and clay products, fabrics, jewelry were High Quality. The Aztecs were especially distinguished by their ability to make a variety of products from the bright feathers of tropical birds. Aztec mosaics and ornaments are also famous. Aristocrats were fond of literature. Many of them could compose a poem or write an oral work. Legends, stories, poems, and descriptions of the rituals of this people have survived to this day. Book paper was made from bark. The calendars that this tribe created are also interesting. The Aztecs used a solar and ritual calendar. Agricultural work and religious work were carried out in accordance with the solar calendar. It consisted of 365 days. The second calendar, which included 260 days, was used for predictions. A person's fate was judged by the day he was born. Until now, many treasure hunters dream of finding Aztec gold. And they lived very richly at one time. This is evidenced by the stories of the Spanish conquerors. They say that the wealthy Aztecs, especially in the capital Tenochtitlan, ate and slept on gold. They installed golden thrones for their gods, at the foot of which gold bars also lay.

Aztec religion

People from this tribe believed that there were several gods who controlled the forces of nature and the destinies of people. They had gods of water, maize, rain, sun, war and many others. The Aztecs built huge, richly decorated temples. The largest was dedicated to the main deity Tenochtitlan and was 46 meters high. Rituals and sacrifices were held in temples. The Aztecs also had an idea of ​​the soul. They believed that its habitat in humans is the heart and blood vessels. The beating of the pulse was taken as its manifestation. According to the Aztecs, the soul was put into the human body by the gods while he was in the womb. They also believed that objects and animals had a soul. The Aztecs imagined that there was a special connection between them that allowed them to interact on an intangible level. The Aztecs also thought that every person had a magical double. His death led to the death of a person. The Aztecs offered their own blood as a sacrifice to their idols. To do this, they performed the ritual of bloodletting. In general, the Aztecs made human sacrifices in huge quantities. It is a known fact that 2,000 people were sacrificed during the illumination of the Great Temple. The Aztecs thought about the end of the world and believed that a large amount of blood could appease the gods and maintain world balance.

The Aztec civilization died due to the greed of the Spaniards. This happened at the beginning of the 16th century, but the imagination is still excited by the story of the life of a tribe that disappeared from the face of the earth. Whether Aztec gold brings happiness is something everyone can decide for themselves.

The Incas, Mayans, Aztecs are the peoples who inhabited South and Central America before this continent was discovered and colonized by Europeans. America of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs is also called pre-Columbian. These peoples (today they are called Indians) created highly developed civilizations and left to their descendants many hitherto unresolved mysteries of their development. So,

The Mayan peoples inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula. Their civilization developed in the territory that today belongs to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and was based on individual city-states. The largest of them is Tikal.

Under power major cities there were adjacent lands and smaller towns. All the cities of the Mayan state were connected by roads along which trade routes passed. The Mayans traded among themselves and other peoples with jade, cocoa beans, salt and jaguar skins.

This is surprising, but the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs had no idea about the wheel and goods, if it was not possible to deliver them by water, were carried by porters along the roads. Outside the walls of the cities, the Mayans were engaged in peasant labor, mainly growing corn.

Today, the Maya's knowledge of mathematics and astronomy is amazing. Entire scientific works have been written about the accuracy of the calendar compiled by the Mayan priests, and the writing system developed by the Mayans contains a wide variety of symbols.

After centuries of prosperity, the Mayan civilization suddenly mysteriously fell into decline by the 14th century, and in the 1500s the Spanish conquerors (conquistadors) completed its collapse.

Aztecs

The Aztec Empire was located west of the Mayan lands, in the territory of modern Mexico. The capital of the Aztecs, the large city of Tenochitlan occupied an area of ​​about 15 square kilometers and was located on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

In the life of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs, religion played a very important role. They worshiped many gods, and their temples in the form of stepped pyramids amaze with their grandeur no less than the Egyptian pyramids (the height of some of them reached 45 meters!). At the tops of these pyramids, the Aztecs performed human sacrifices to their gods.

Another sign of the Aztec civilization is the widespread passion for a ball game similar to modern basketball. True, the ring in this game was located vertically, and the ball could only be touched with the forearms and thighs of the legs. Players from the losing team were very often sacrificed.

The names of the Aztec rulers, under whom their empire reached its greatest prosperity, have also reached us - Montezuma I (1440-1468 reign) and Montezuma II (began reign in 1502). The Aztec civilization, like the Mayans, also perished under the onslaught of the conquistadors. This happened in 1521.

The Incas

The Inca Empire stretched 2,000 km along the Pacific coast of South America. Its heyday occurred in the late 1400s and early 1500s. In addition to the Incas, there were other states of South American Indians (for example, Tiahuanaco, Guari or Chimu), but they all fell into decline and were conquered by the Incas.

The Incas were engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture (burning and cultivating clearings in the Amazon jungle), hunting, trade and construction. Their capital, the city of Cusco, was located high in the Andes, and the Incas built a whole network of high-mountain roads, with cable cars suspension bridges through the gorges.

In the 16th century, the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs were conquered and enslaved by Europeans, and who knows what the fate of their civilizations would have been if they had possessed firearms by the time the conquistadors appeared.

Information from the children's encyclopedia "Riddles of World History"

All ancient civilizations are in any case mysterious, covered in secrets, since they are removed from the present time by an incalculable number of centuries. All evidence of their existence on the planet is findings, writings, objects and structures.

Aztec and Mayan mythology

And historians are free to interpret them as they consider possible. It is impossible to obtain more accurate information about such antiquity, and therefore the history of these civilizations is overgrown with speculation, legends and hypotheses.

One of these civilizations is the Indians of South America

Much has been said about the tribes that inhabited this area many millennia ago. Including the fact that they appeared out of nowhere and quite soon began to possess the highest level of knowledge, culture and technology.

It was the Indians of the Mayan, Incas, and Toltec tribes who left the greatest structures - pyramids similar to the famous Egyptian ones, only several centuries older. Although there is a hypothesis that the pyramids on Earth are a single whole, they are all connected not only by shape. But also for their purpose, and are located on the planet in a single perspective.

All these facts lead supporters of the extraterrestrial origin of life on earth to think about the influence of this higher intelligence on the construction of not only the pyramids, but also the actual buildings of the ancient Indians of Mesoamerica. To build such buildings and use them, it was necessary to have colossal knowledge of astronomy and cosmography, if we accept as true the hypothesis about the purpose of the pyramids as a channel of communication with the Universe, but they are really oriented towards Sirius, and absolutely accurately reflect and perceive the change of seasons and time days.

Even modern technology is not capable of processing stone for construction in the same way as the Incas did. In addition, buildings high in the mountains also require special lifting mechanisms, which the almost primitive pagan tribes, who did not even know the wheel, could hardly master (not to mention their manufacture) perfectly.

Another extremely interesting fact is the suddenly awakened craving for agriculture among these peoples

Having lived for centuries by hunting and gathering, they suddenly began to sow the fields freed from the forest with grains. And the crop they started to cultivate was corn. The only plant that cannot reproduce without human help.

Riddle after riddle emerges from the depths of ancient Indian cultures

Naturally, the inability to explain many of these facts gives rise to hypotheses about the extraterrestrial patronage of this civilization. Ancient people who worshiped the totem - the jaguar, and considered themselves his descendants, wrote a very accurate calendar of the Sun and Moon, using only cuneiform as their written language - a description of the emergence of the Earth's satellite and the laws of movement of other luminaries, who never visited other places on the planet except their habitat - They built a structure that in all respects resembles a spaceport.

Video: Early Settlers of America

Description: In 1914, an unknown tribe of hunters was discovered in South America. Nowadays, scientists have established that their ancestors lived on the continent back in the Ice Age. How and where did they get there? What race did you belong to? How do their descendants live today?

There are a great many hypotheses about the emergence and existence of Mesoamerican culture; which of them is true is another mystery. The only thing we can say with certainty is that modern man knows negligibly little about the history of his own planet. And if some theories are ever confirmed, then the entire history of antiquity may have to be rewritten, which means that today’s history will undergo changes.

According to most researchers, the Mayan culture is one of the greatest achievements of mankind in antiquity. This civilization lasted for almost a thousand years. The Mayans were the first developed people of America that the Spaniards encountered during the conquest of the lands of the Western Hemisphere.

By the time Europeans arrived, the Mayans occupied a vast territory. Within its boundaries, scientists usually distinguish three cultural and geographical areas. For example, the northern one covered the entire Yucatan Peninsula, which was a flat limestone plain with shrubby vegetation. In places it was intersected by chains of low rocky hills. The absence of rivers, streams and lakes, poor soils meant difficulties for farming. The southern region, which included mountainous areas and the Pacific coast, was also not entirely favorable for living. Southern Mexico and Guatemala. More profitable in its own way natural conditions was the central region covering northern part Guatemala and the territories adjacent to the west, where the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche are now located. The central region is a hilly limestone lowland. Most of it is covered with wet tropical forests, which alternate with grassy savannas, swampy lowlands and lakes.

In such difficult conditions, the Maya Indians built first modest huts made of wood and clay, and later large stone cities.

How are the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas different?

Despite the fact that the tools were extremely primitive and were made only from wood, bone and stone, the Mayans were able to achieve amazing perfection in architecture, sculpture, painting, and in the production of ceramics.

The development of the ancient Mayan civilization lasted almost ten centuries. At the end of the 8th century the Mayans reached their highest level cultural development. By this time, the Indians had built elegant temples, giant dam roads, numerous pyramids and palaces. Over the centuries, old villages and cities grew and expanded, and new ones arose. All this continued almost until the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. In the 9th century, some kind of disaster occurred in the prosperous lands and white-stone cities of the Mayans. As a result, architectural construction in cities stopped completely. Skilled sculptors no longer erected huge stone steles with the faces of rulers and gods, and skilled stone carvers no longer decorated them with elaborate and elegant hieroglyphs.

The largest Mayan centers began to fall into disrepair. Residents abandoned them. In just a few decades, the cities of the ancient Mayans were safely hidden from human eyes, falling into the tenacious embrace of a lush evergreen jungle. Empty areas and abandoned buildings were covered with forest greenery. Lianas and tree roots destroyed the foundations and ceilings of massive buildings, and low-growing bushes filled all the free parts of the space where streets and dam roads had recently been located. This is precisely one of the greatest mysteries culture-phenomenon, which includes the ancient Mayan civilization. Cities of the classical period, built in the 1st millennium AD. e., back in the pre-Columbian period, the jungle swallowed up. And when Columbus’s people set foot on the lands of America at the end of the 15th century, and the first conquistador expeditions arrived here at the beginning of the 16th century, even the closest descendants of the people who once lived there forgot about the ancient Mayan civilization.

The culture that preceded the classical period of the Mayan civilization (experts call it protoclassical), the 1st millennium AD. BC, according to most researchers, is, of course, much more modest and differs in many qualitative indicators. However, the continuity between them is defined quite clearly. This is especially noticeable when comparing the following characteristic features: monumental stone architecture with a stepped (false) vault, the obligatory presence of carved stone steles with sculptural images and inscriptions, hieroglyphic writing, royal tombs with mortuary temples under them, the layout of the main architectural complexes around rectangular courtyards and squares , which are oriented to the cardinal points. All these features characteristic of preclassical architectural monuments undoubtedly served as the basis for the subsequent development and flourishing of Mayan culture.

The city of Copan was built during the classical period of the ancient Mayan civilization, around the middle of the 7th century. According to descriptions left in the 16th century by G. Palacio, and later, in the mid-19th century, by J. Stephenson, Copan was discovered in the west of Honduras, not far from the Guatemalan border, the departments of Zacapa and Chiquimula. The so-called urban center of Copan covers an area of ​​30 hectares. Local architecture was distinguished by the fact that it lacked great pyramids and highly elevated temples with huge “roof ridges”. Copan gives the impression of a huge acropolis, which included several pyramids, platforms, terraces, temples and courtyards. They were located on the territory of the city in groups. One of the main attractions is the stairs leading to the acropolis. It consists of 63 sculpted steps and has about 2,500 hieroglyphs. The temples especially stand out. Researchers date the construction of three of them to 756-771. One of the temples was dedicated to Venus.

Of great interest central square. Nine monoliths were erected on it, which serve as the basis for altars, distinguished by elegant decoration. According to scientists, Copan was home to one of the largest astronomical observatories, which were located in the ancient Mayan cities. American archaeologist S. Morley assumed that the population of Copan during its peak period reached 200 thousand people. However, according to other researchers, the scientist somewhat overestimated the number of inhabitants. Nevertheless, Copan was considered in ancient times to be the most prominent center of the Mayan civilization.

North of Copan, already on Guatemalan territory, is the city of Quirigua. It is not so impressive in size, but is of great interest as a monument to an ancient civilization. On its territory, archaeologists were able to discover amazing steles covered with relief images. One of them reaches ten meters in height and is larger in size than all other monoliths discovered in Mesoamerica.

Many researchers consider the architectural complex of Palenque to be one of the most brilliant cities of the ancient Mayan civilization of the classical period.

Its history goes back almost ten centuries. It existed from the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. until the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. The name of this city, like almost all other ancient Mayan cities, is conventional. In their choice, modern researchers were most often guided by purely random characteristics. Palenque translated from Spanish means “hedge”, “enclosure”, “fenced place”.

This urban center, its architecture and sculpture were distinguished by the peculiar features that were characteristic of the Mayan classical period.

The most common building material was stone. The buildings were constructed mainly from limestone. The rock cut out of the rocks was burned, thus obtaining lime.

The Mayans mixed it with sand, added water and prepared a cementing solution from these components.

In combination with stone dust, it gave a variety of another magnificent building material- a thing (something like modern putty, made from a mixture of plaster and chalk). The pieces covered the walls and ceilings. Using the extraordinary plasticity of this material, the Mayans masterfully made stucco decorations, which were applied to the walls and columns of buildings, their bases, and friezes. Using a sharp cutter, apparently made of obsidian (glass of volcanic origin), contours with images of deities and hieroglyphic inscriptions were applied with easily drawn lines onto the slabs covered with the piece. Limestones were also used to make various decorations and dishes. Limestone was used to make jambs, lintels, steles, altars, and statues.

The main features of the urban center in Palenque were the presence of a portico with three and sometimes five entrances. They were formed by erecting wide columns. Inside the central rear room, which was like a separate architectural unit, there was a sanctuary. It performed the function of protecting the symbol of the cult to which the temple was dedicated. The small rooms that were located on the sides of the sanctuary were the cells of the priests.

In Palenque, as in all other Mayan palaces and temples discovered during excavations, on both sides of the entrances on the wall or column you can find the likes of stone rings. This is either a piece of stone inserted into a small recess, or a small stone cylinder built vertically into the space between two stones.

Similar devices were used to fasten the ropes on which the curtain was hung. It served as a kind of door and sheltered the room from rain and wind, and saved it from the cold. The ancient Mayan architects also used protruding canopies in the construction of buildings, on which special cornices were strengthened. During rainstorms, water flowed down them, bypassing walls or columns decorated with reliefs from the piece, thereby protecting them from erosion and rapid destruction.

Of great interest is the evolution that the Mayans made in urban planning. Their first buildings, erected for ritual purposes or as dwellings for priests and leaders, were nothing more than simple huts of different sizes. The foundation for them at this time (IV-II centuries BC) were platforms of various heights, lined with stone and stucco. In the later Preclassic period (closer to the 1st millennium AD), the foundations for buildings began to develop into step pyramids, which were created by superimposing one platform on another. However, even during this period, the temple that crowned the pyramid, despite the fact that its base was decorated with rich alabaster masks, was an ordinary hut with a palm roof. And only in the classical period of development, starting from the first centuries of our era, a stone vault replaced the palm roof. It was called the false arch or Mayan vault. This architectural innovation is not a Mayan invention. Some peoples of the Old World, for example the Mycenaeans, covered their homes and buildings in a similar way, several thousand years earlier than the first shoots of the culture of the ancient Indian civilization arose.

The Mayan vault had a peculiarity. It was erected by bringing the walls closer together, starting from a certain height. Rows of stones were stacked one on top of the other so that each subsequent one protruded above the previous one. When the hole at the top became very small, it was covered with a slab. The new vault was much stronger. After all, it was built of stone and, unlike wood, did not succumb to the destructive and destructive effects of the humid tropical climate. This type of ceiling ensured the sharp angle of the vault, its great height and the enormous massiveness of the walls on which this vault rested. At the same time, the internal, usable volume of the buildings was very small compared to the external one. Due to the false arch, the architectural structures had a small width of the premises but a sufficient length.

The Mayan vault had another significant drawback. Due to the peculiarities of its design, it allowed covering only narrow spaces. However, in some cases, ancient architects still managed to erect such ceilings in the burial crypt of the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque and in the transverse corridors dividing central building Governor's Palace and side extensions in Uxmal. To increase the internal area, Mayan architects partitioned the room in the middle with a longitudinal wall. It had a door in the center. In such an architectural structure, the building was covered with two false vaults, one end resting on the middle wall and the other on the outer wall.

During the Classic period, the Mayans introduced innovations in the construction of foundations for their temples, ritual buildings, and palaces. They moved from using simple platforms to so-called pyramids. However, unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Mayans never sought to achieve a truly pyramidal geometric volume. By superimposing the platforms one on top of the other, they ended up with a truncated shape. On its tetrahedral top a small, usually two- or three-room temple was erected.

The number of ledges, or divisions, into which the body of the pyramid was divided could be very diverse. A long, steep and wide staircase usually led from the base of the pyramid to the door of the sanctuary. If the pyramid was very large, then such stairs were located on all four sides. The configuration of such pyramids was usually used for the construction of religious buildings on the tops of large hills. Among the Mayans, any elevation was a deification of the forces of nature. According to Indian beliefs, it was on the hill that rains, winds, and rivers lived. They believed that the higher the hill, the closer to the sky. Therefore, the temple had to rush to heaven, to where the gods live.

Archaeologists and researchers consider the famous Temple of the Sun in Palenque to be a characteristic architectural example of a Mayan temple from the heyday of civilization (the second half of the 7th century). It is erected on a low pyramid, which is divided into five floors. The temple itself is located on the truncated top of the pyramid. This is an oblong, small building, which has an internal longitudinal wall. Two narrow sections of the façade wall are adjacent to the right and left ends, and two more rectangular pillars are placed between them. Thus, the facade is something like a portico. Its pillars are decorated with piece reliefs. The front wall is cut through by three doors leading to the room where the small sanctuary is located. On its back wall there is a bas-relief depicting a mask of the sun god. This mask is suspended on two crossed spears. Near them, two human figures are depicted in a pose of worship. It was this sculptural detail of the sanctuary that gave rise to some researchers calling this building in Palenque the Temple of the Sun.

The flat roof of the temple is crowned with a roofing ridge. It, like many other Mayan religious buildings, reaches a considerable height. The ridge consists of two walls converging in the upper part at an acute angle, which have numerous openings resembling windows. The surface of the walls of the ridge is covered with rich geometric patterns, in the center of which there is an image of a mythical monster. According to experts, the ridge had no structural function and served only to increase total height building. The Temple of the Sun, from the point of view of architects, is distinguished by the balance of all its parts, nobility and simplicity of outline. This is one of the most expressive and impressive monuments of Mayan architecture.

The main features of Mayan architecture associated with the construction of religious buildings can be traced in the example of other urban centers that existed in the 7th-9th centuries - Tikal, Piedras Negras, Uxmal, Yaxchilan, Copan, Quirigua. The differences can only be found in the details. For example, the temple pyramids of Tikal, largest city classical period, were very high, but had a relatively small base. In appearance they resembled towers. The tallest of them, the pyramid of Temple IV, is 45 m high, and together with the temple and the decorative ridge rises to more than 70 m.

(For comparison, this is the approximate height of a modern twenty-story building.)

The Mayan builders had a great sense of the surrounding landscape. They skillfully placed buildings on natural terraces. Architectural compositions fit naturally and freely into mountainous terrain. Modern architects are amazed by the layout of Mayan settlements. Ancient city planners achieved amazing balance between the individual parts of the erected ensembles and their harmonious combination. An important role was played by the color contrast of the buildings and the surrounding nature. Mayan architects covered the walls of buildings with white or scarlet stuff. Against the backdrop of the blue sky or the bright green tropical vegetation surrounding the structures, this produced a special effect.

Despite the efforts of historians, archaeologists and other specialists studying the events of past years, antiquity still remains partially shrouded in mysteries. And modern discoveries and found artifacts, lifting the veil of secrets, cause surprise and admiration. The civilizations of the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans are very interesting, since their way of life and technology were advanced, and even today many points remain unclear to us.

The ancestors of this civilization came from the north to the settlement site 10 thousand years ago, after the end of the Ice Age, but the culture of these Indians, as they are accustomed to consider it, began to take shape in 2000 BC, that is, after about 6 thousand years, after the development of the area.

They had their own structure of government, in which power was given only to the “descendants of the gods.” But other people also had a lot of important things to do. Agriculture, for example.

In this area, the Mayans developed good technology: in areas flooded by swamps, they made embankments of earth, and where the soil was dry, they built colossal canals from the sea and rivers. By the way, these water communications were actively used as transport; the Indians hollowed out boats from logs. On their lands they were among the first to cultivate corn, legumes, and cocoa. And also nightshades: tobacco, potatoes and tomatoes, the cultivation of which was later adopted by the whole world.

Before the start of colonization, in South and North America Only the Mayans invented writing. It was a set of hieroglyphs and “icons” - stylized images of what they were supposed to represent. Another of their achievements was simple mathematics: only addition and subtraction were used, but the Mayan counting system had the concept of zero, unlike the Mayan contemporaries from the Old World.

There was also medicine; descriptions of about two hundred diseases were found in special books, and medicinal plants were grown to treat them.

People collected jade and shells, from which artisans then made figurines and household items, using tools: saws, drills and abrasive dust as polish. Researchers were quite surprised by the blue paint that was found in ancient cities. Its recipe is still not clear. It does not fade, is not afraid of high temperatures, and is not even destroyed by acids.

The Indians lived in prosperity due to their hard work and developed trade. Various things and products were in circulation: from shells to tools; seaside cities used salt as currency, and residents of settlements remote from the sea paid with cocoa tree grains; however, simple exchange was also quoted.

The Mayans were very concerned about astronomy, in which they achieved certain successes. They compiled several calendars, with negligible errors even by modern standards. For the sake of this activity, they built several observatories, the windows in them exactly corresponded to the trajectories of the observed objects. All their observations were strictly documented in sacred books.

The entire Mayan state consisted of 200 cities, of which about 10% were megacities with a population of 50 thousand inhabitants. And most cities delighted the eye with masterpieces of architecture. Many buildings stand on pyramid-shaped foundations, and the higher the pyramid, the more important the object. The cladding of the houses is made of limestone, and in some places there are ornate patterns and stucco moldings. In buildings general purpose columns and mosaic decoration are visible. This luxurious infrastructure even included a ball court. This game is called tlachtli.

In 1441, the story of the heyday of the Mayans began to come to an end. This is due to climate change, which has led to severe drought. The drought, in turn, deprived the people food products- the most necessary resource. Against the backdrop of general negative sentiment, the existing way of life began to disintegrate and the once huge, cohesive society was divided into small tribes. The last straw was the conquistadors. At the beginning of the 16th century, colonists came to these lands, and by the middle of it they had “finished off” culture and civilization, and those who managed to defend themselves and flee died from viruses and diseases brought from overseas.

This civilization is the youngest, as it began to take shape only in the 12th century. Which, by the way, did not prevent it from becoming the most numerous (6-12 million people) in pre-Columbian America and conquering considerable areas. The place where the empire was founded contributed to its development. The fertile land and climate provided a constant rich harvest, so it was possible to pay less attention to agriculture and concentrate on the war.

But the conquest of other peoples did not begin with violence; ambassadors came to foreigners several times, peacefully offered to join, and presented gifts and gifts. And only after this, in case of refusal, military action was taken. The Incas were armed with bows, axes, and stones. As well as the psychological impact. As they advanced, the soldiers shouted loudly and played wind instruments and drums. This greatly demoralized the enemy, who became much easier to defeat.

The conquered tribes were treated loyally and did not interfere with their traditions and customs. All that was required of them was recognition of the emperor, respect for the Inca religion and payment of taxes. Attempts at an uprising by subjects were nipped in the bud. To avoid a relapse, half of the rebels settled in different cities, and more faithful citizens moved in with the other half.

Alternative view

It is not for nothing that the Inca army is considered so powerful. From the age of 10, boys went to “trainings”. Experienced commanders prepared children for hand-to-hand combat, handling weapons, and gave them knowledge of tactics.

For the most part, the people were engaged in war and agriculture - they grew sunflowers, pineapples, and peppers. But there were also many specialists in other fields. These are one of the few Indians who knew how to smelt metal. And many deposits of gold and silver that they discovered are still being developed. There was so much gold that the cladding of some buildings was made from this metal.

One of the significant achievements of the Incas is their colossal network of roads throughout the state. Most of the paths were simply trampled, but the wet soil was filled with a mixture of stones and clay to prevent it from becoming soggy. And if the route ran through a swamp, then a dam made of cobblestones was built at this place. In places where the road was crossed by a cliff or a river, bridges were built on stilts or suspended. And warehouses were organized along the roads every 3 km. postal buildings, each of which contained a messenger. The parcel itself was passed from one to another, according to the principle of a relay race, which allowed the parcel to travel up to 400 km. per day.

Although the Incas did not have writing, they did have a unique accounting system called “quipu”. The recordings were made on a half-meter string. The color of the rope meant provisions, people, etc. To indicate one, ten, hundred, a knot with one loop was knitted. To show two, twenty, two hundred, a knot was tied with two loops, and so on by analogy. Moreover, this system worked without errors, and largely thanks to it, there was no money in the state, there was an exchange, and various products were strictly distributed among people by the government.

Everything was organized so well that there were no rich or poor, everyone lived in prosperity, even the incapacitated, they were supported by taxes. There was practically no crime, because people were most often executed for this.

The main animal for the empire was the llama. It was transport, a source of meat, fertilizer and wool.

Amazingly, even then the Inca doctors used penicillin. They didn’t open it and didn’t know what it was, but they worked with the mold that contained it.

The life of this empire ended almost simultaneously with the Maya. The colonialists also came, but they were also joined by traitors, and the Spaniards quite easily destroyed civilization.

They began to appear in parallel with the Incas; in 1256, at their peak, the population was about 10 million. Due to the fact that the race is relatively young, they adopted a lot of knowledge and achievements from their more ancient neighbors, and knew how to use them effectively.

But it was also sad with writing; because of the conquest, they did not have time to develop it; instead, they used drawings.

But this did not stop him from building a life of luxury. It is believed that the Aztecs lived more beautiful than others. There was even something like landscape design: beautiful planting of trees and bushes around the houses, cages with birds, and stone aquariums.

And the city infrastructure included restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, pharmacies, theaters, tlachtli stadiums, which had “bookmakers”. They even built educational establishments, where they taught crafts, military training, history, trade and religion.

The social strata were also diverse: nobles, warriors, traders, ordinary townspeople, slaves and the lowest caste - prisoners of war.

Basically, this empire existed due to tribute from captured cities. But paradoxically, things were getting better for the occupied territories. And they were unable to capture only one people - Purepecha. But we still contacted and traded with them.

Aztec achievements include: metal and coal mining; construction of aqueducts - stone gutters for water supply; trained doctors and cultivated medicinal plants, many unknown even in our time.

The diet consisted of such foods as turkey, shrimp, corn, tomatoes, vanilla and much more.

The process of growing plants was technologically advanced: piles were driven into the lake on which there was a platform with soil. This method gave up to 7 harvests per year. This is how the food crops listed above were planted, as well as cotton.

With the arrival of the Spaniards, like all other indigenous peoples, the Aztecs quickly came to an end. The conquest was helped by the fact that they were accepted as gods and were not hindered in any way.


A little more than ten years ago - on October 12, 1992, planet Earth celebrated one of the most significant dates in the history of mankind - the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. There are many hypotheses about when man appeared in the Western Hemisphere, in North and South America, on numerous islands, and when people came to the American continent. For the fifth century now (since the 16th century), pundits have been debating this issue. In numerous studies on this topic, among the first inhabitants of America, people from Canary Islands, Phoenicians and Carthaginians, ancient Greeks and Romans, Jews, Spaniards, Egyptians and Babylonians, Chinese and even Tatars and Scythians.

Science developed, and as new discoveries were made, knowledge accumulated and hypotheses were selected. Today there is no longer any doubt that the part of the world marked on the world map as America was inhabited by people from other continents. However, from which ones exactly has not been finally decided. Nevertheless, scientists were able to identify many common features inherent in all Indians, bringing them closer to the Mongoloid peoples of Asia. Appearance The appearance of the original inhabitants of America at the time of their first meetings with Europeans was as follows: a stocky figure, short legs, medium-sized feet, rather long arms but with small hands, a high and usually wide forehead, poorly developed brow ridges. The Indian's face had a large, strongly protruding nose (often, especially in the north, the so-called eagle nose), and a rather large mouth. The eyes are most often dark brown. The hair is black, straight, thick.

Many early European documentary and literary sources indicated that the Indians were red-skins. This is actually not true. The skin of representatives of various Indian tribes is rather yellow-brown. According to modern researchers, the name “Redskins” was given to them by the first settlers. It did not arise by chance. The North American Indians once had a widespread custom of rubbing their faces and bodies with red ocher on special occasions. That's why Europeans called them redskins.

Currently, anthropologists distinguish three main groups of Indians - North American, South American and Central American, whose representatives differ in height, skin color and other characteristics.

Most researchers believe that the settlement of the American continent came from Asia through the Bering Strait. Scientists believe that four great glaciations helped ancient people overcome the expanse of water. According to this hypothesis, during the glaciations the Bering Strait froze and turned into some kind of huge bridge. Asian tribes who led a nomadic lifestyle freely moved along it to the neighboring continent. Based on this, the time of the appearance of man on the American continent was determined - this happened 10-30 thousand years ago.

By the time the Spanish caravels under the command of Christopher Columbus appeared at east coast New World (October 1492) North and South America, including the islands of the West Indies, were inhabited by many tribes and nationalities. With the light hand of the famous navigator, who assumed that he had discovered new lands of India, they began to be called Indians. These tribes were at different levels of development. According to most researchers, before the European conquest, the most advanced civilizations in the Western Hemisphere developed in Mesoamerica and the Andes. The term “Mesoamerica” was introduced in the 40s of the 20th century by the German scientist Paul Kirchoff. Since then, in archeology this has been used to designate a geographic region that includes Mexico and most of Central America (up to the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica). It was this territory that, at the time of its discovery by Europeans, was inhabited by many Indian tribes and presented a colorful picture of the cultures that they represented. According to the correct definition of the Czech Americanist Miloslav Stingl, “these cultures were at different stages of development of tribal society, and the general laws of evolution characteristic of the primitive communal formation manifested themselves here in many local variants and forms.”

To the most vibrant and developed civilizations Ancient America(pre-Columbian period) scientists include such cultures as Olmec, Teotihuacan, Mayan, Toltec and Aztec.

The study of the art of Ancient America and its history is relatively young. It dates back a little over a hundred years. American studies researchers currently do not have such rich material and achievements as are available today in the field of studying ancient art. They also experience great difficulties due to the fact that to support their conclusions obtained as a result of archaeological excavations and discoveries, they do not have such a number of written monuments, which are, for example, at the disposal of researchers Ancient East. The ancient Americans developed writing much later and never reached a high level of development. The written monuments of the peoples of Mesoamerica that have reached us have not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, most of the information concerning political history, social system, mythology, conquests, titles and names of rulers, are based only on Indian legends. Many of them were recorded after the Spanish conquest and date back to the first half of the 16th century. It is also important to remember that until this time, ancient American civilizations developed without any influence from European or Asian centers. Until the 16th century, their development proceeded completely independently.

The art of Ancient America, like any other art, has a number of features and characteristic features that are unique to it. In order to comprehend this originality, a dialectical approach is necessary, taking into account the historical conditions under which art and culture developed ancient civilizations Mesoamerica.

Scientists attribute the highest flowering of the culture of the Mayan Indian tribe to the 7th-8th centuries. The Aztec Empire reached the apogee of its development at the beginning of the 16th century. Very often, in the works of archaeological scientists and researchers of ancient cultural civilizations, the Mayan Indian peoples (as older people) are called by analogy “Greeks,” and the Aztecs (as they existed later) are called “Romans” of the New World.

The Mayan cultural traditions had enormous influence in the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, as well as in several states of modern Mexico. Geographical boundaries The distribution of this civilization amounted to 325,000 km2 and covered the habitat of several dozen, and possibly hundreds of tribes. In general, the tribes inherited a single culture. However, in many ways it naturally had regional characteristics.

The Mayan civilization stood out primarily for its achievements in construction and architecture.

Representatives of this nationality created exquisite and perfect works of painting and sculpture, had unique masters in stone processing and the manufacture of ceramic products. The Mayans had deep knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Their greatest achievement is their introduction of such a mathematical concept as “zero”. They began to use it hundreds of years earlier than other highly developed civilizations.

The Aztecs appeared in Central Mexico in the second half of the 12th century. No historical data about them has been found before this time. There are only a few legends and traditions from which it is known that they called the island of Aztlan (Aztlan) their homeland.

Aztecs, Incas, Mayans

One of the traditional descriptions of the supposed life of ancestors in Aztlan is known, allegedly compiled for the last of the pre-Hispanic rulers of the Aztec state, the famous Montezuma II the Younger, based on ancient manuscripts. According to this source, the ancestral home of Aztlan was located on an island (or was an island) where there was big mountain with caves that served as dwellings. From this word, which denoted the location of the island (Aztlan), came the name of the tribe - Aztecs (more precisely, Aztecs). However, science has not yet established the exact geographical position of this island.

In the earliest stages of their existence, the Aztecs were dominated by a nomadic lifestyle; they were mainly engaged in hunting. This left an imprint on their character. By nature they were very warlike. For almost two centuries, the Az-Tecs waged wars of conquest and at the beginning of the 14th century, having conquered many other tribes living in Central Mexico, they created a powerful empire. Around 1325, the city they founded, Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), became its capital.

Currently, interest in the study of ancient Indian civilizations has not faded. Architectural monuments, sculpture, jewelry, household items discovered in places where peoples with an original, unique culture lived several thousand years ago, still conceal a lot of unsolved things. Understanding the history of pre-Columbian America, leading archaeologists and modern scientists They are trying to find an explanation for many of the most important aspects of the life of ancient human communities.

The Mayan civilization is unique. Their writing, calendar system, and knowledge of astronomy amaze even modern cosmology specialists. The Mayan Indians are one of the most ancient and mysterious civilizations that ever existed on Earth.

Birth of the Mayan civilization

Scientists have determined where the Indians lived. According to the theory, after the end of the last ice age, the tribes living in the north went south to develop new lands. Today it is the territory of Latin America.

Then, over the next 6 thousand years, the Indians created their own culture - they built cities and farmed.

By 1500 BC, the Mayans were living in the Yucatan Peninsula, present-day Guatemala. southern states Mexico and the western parts of El Salvador and Honduras.

Mayan Indians: history of the development of civilization

First major centers became the cities of El Mirador, Nakbe and Tikal. The construction of temples flourished, calendars were widely used, and hieroglyphic writing developed.

The photo below shows the ancient Mayan cultural center in the ancient city of Tikal.

The Indians created their own system, including architecture with unique buildings - pyramids, monuments, palaces, politics and social hierarchy. Society was divided into the masses and the elite, consisting of rulers.

The Mayans believed that their rulers were descended from the gods. The status was emphasized by robes with a mandatory attribute - a breast mirror. “Mirror of the people” is what the Mayans called their supreme ruler.

Maya ruling class

The ancient Mayan civilization numbered more than 20 million people.

A whole system of 200 cities was created, 20 of them were megacities with a population of more than 50 thousand people.

Economic development of the Mayans

Initially, the Mayans were engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture - they cut down the forest on the site that they planned to cultivate, then burned the trees and shrubs, and fertilized the soil with ash. Since the land in the tropics is infertile, its resources were quickly depleted, and the fields ceased to be cultivated. They words were overgrown with forest. Then the whole process began again.

But as the population increased, new methods were required, and the Indians began to use hillsides for terrace farming.

Swamps were also developed - raised fields were built on them by building beds a meter high above the water level.

They installed irrigation systems, and water flowed into reservoirs through a network of canals.

They traveled on the water in canoes made of red wood. They could accommodate up to 50 people at the same time. They traded fish, shells, shark teeth and other seafood. Salt was like money.

Salt production

Obsidian imported from Mexico and Guatemala was used to make weapons.

Jade was a ritual stone, it was always in value.

Jade products

Those who lived on the plain traded food supplies, cotton, jaguar skins and quetzal feathers.

Art and architecture

During the "classical" early and late periods (250 - 600 AD and 600 - 900 AD), a huge number of temples were built, and wall paintings depicting rulers appeared. Art is flourishing.

Below is a photo of Barel'ev with the image of the ruler.

New cultural centers become Copan and Palenque.

Migration

Beginning in 900 AD, the southern plains gradually emptied, leaving settlements in the northern part of Yucatan. Until 1000 AD, the influence of Mexican culture grew, and the cities of Labna, Uxmal, Kabah and ChiChen Itza flourished.

Below is a photo of the pyramid in the city of ChiChen Itza

After the mysterious collapse of Chichen Itza, Mayapan becomes the main Mayan city.

Why did the Mayan civilization disappear?

No one knows for sure the reason for the disappearance of the Indian people. There are only hypotheses on this score. According to the main one, in 1441 there was an uprising of the leaders who lived in the cities neighboring Mayapan. This caused the degeneration of civilization and its transformation into scattered tribes. Drought and famine also had an impact. Then the conquistadors appeared.

Below in the photo is the last center of civilization.

In 1517, Spanish ships landed on an unknown shore. In the battle with the Indians, the conquistadors saw gold. This began the extermination of the Mayan people, since the Spaniards believed that gold should belong to their rulers. In 1547, the Mayans were conquered, but some of the tribes managed to escape and hide in the center of the Yucatan Peninsula, where they lived for 150 years.

The diseases that the Spaniards brought with them caused outbreaks of epidemics. The Indians had no immunity to influenza, measles and smallpox, and they died by the millions.

The culture and religion of the Indians was exterminated by everyone possible ways: temples collapsed, shrines were destroyed, idolatry was punishable by torture.

In the 100 years since the Europeans arrived in Latin America, the Mayan civilization was completely eradicated.

Watch the BBC documentary below about mysterious civilization Mayan